Stand by Me (1986)
Richard Dreyfuss: The Writer
Photos
Quotes
-
[last lines]
The Writer : [typing on computer] I never had any friends later on like the ones I had when I was twelve. Jesus, does anyone?
-
The Writer : [voiceover] It happens sometimes. Friends come in and out of your life, like busboys in a restaurant.
-
The Writer : I wondered how Teddy could care so much for his dad, who practically killed him. And I couldn't give a shit about my own dad, who hadn't laid a hand on me since I was three! And that was for eating the bleach under the sink.
-
The Writer : [referring to Chris] Although I hadn't seen him in more than ten years, I know I'll miss him forever.
-
Milo : Chopper! Sic'em, boy!
The Writer : [while Gordie is runs in slow motion] Now he said, "Sic'em, boy!" But what I heard was, "Chopper! Sic balls!"
Gordie : [Gordie screams and runs for his life and is surprised to discover that Chopper is a small golden retriever] That's Chopper?
Teddy : [Taunting Chopper behind the fence] Ha ha ha! Come on, Choppy! Bite my ass, Choppy! Bite my ass! Bite shit. Come on, Choppy! Sic balls, Choppy!
Milo : Hey, you! Stop teasing that dog, you hear me! Stop teasing him! Sonny, I'm gonna beat your ass, teasing my dog like that!
Teddy : Yeah? I'd like to see you climb over this fence and get me, fat ass!
Milo : Don't you call me that, you little tin weasel peckerwood loony's son.
Teddy : [Surprised] What did you call me?
Milo : I know who you are. You're Teddy Duchamp. Your dad's a loony. A loony up in the nuthouse in Togus. He took your ear and he put it to a stove and burnt it off.
Teddy : [Trying not to get angry] My father stormed the beach at Normandy.
Milo : He's crazier than a shithouse rat. No wonder you're acting the way you are with a loony for a father.
Teddy : [Getting angry] You call my dad a loony again, I'll kill you.
Milo : Loony, loony, loony!
Teddy : [Extremely angry] I'm gonna rip your head off and shit down your neck!
-
The Writer : At the beginning of the school year, Vern had buried a quart jar of pennies underneath his house. He drew a treasure map so he could find them again. A week later, his mom cleaned out his room and threw away the map. Vern had been trying to find those pennies for nine months. Nine months, man. You didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
-
The Writer : The kid wasn't sick. The kid wasn't sleeping. The kid was dead.
-
The Writer : Vern didn't just mean being off limits inside the junkyard, or fudging on our folks, or going on a hike up the railroad to Harlow. He meant those things, but it seems to me now it was more and that we all knew it. Everything was there and around us. We knew exactly who we were and exactly where we were going. It was grand.
-
[first lines]
The Writer : [voiceover] I was 12 going on 13 the first time I saw a dead human being. It happened in the summer of 1959-a long time ago, but only if you measure in terms of years. I was living in a small town in Oregon called Castle Rock. There were only twelve hundred and eighty-one people. But to me, it was the whole world.
-
The Writer : As time went on, we saw less and less of Teddy and Vern until, eventually, they became just two more faces in the halls. Happens sometimes, friends come in and out of your life like busboys in a restaurant. I heard that Vern got married out of high school, had four kids, and is now the forklift operator at the Arseno Lumberyard. Teddy tried several times to get into the Army, but his eyes and his ear kept him out. Last I heard, he had spent some time in jail and was now doing odd jobs around Castle Rock.
Chris : I'm never gonna get out of this town, am I, Gordie?
Gordie : You can do anything you want, man.
Chris : Yeah. Sure.
[Staring at each other for a moment]
Chris : Give me some skin.
[They share their handshake]
Gordie : I'll see ya.
Chris : Not if I see you first.
The Writer : Chris did get out. He enrolled in the college courses with me and, although, it was hard, he gutted it out like he always did. He went on to college and, eventually, became a lawyer. Last week, he entered a fast food restaurant. Just ahead of him, two men got into an argument. One of them pulled a knife. Chris, who had always made the best peace, tried to break it up. He was stabbed in the throat. He died almost instantly.
The Writer : [the Writer typing on his computer] Although I hadn't seen him in more than ten years, I know I'll miss him forever.
Gordon's Son : Dad, can we go now?
The Writer : You ready?
Gordon's Son : Yeah, we've been ready for an hour.
The Writer : [laughs] Okay, I'll be right there.
His Friend : He said that a half hour ago.
Gordon's Son : Yeah, my dad's weird. He gets like that when he's writing.
The Writer : [Continues typing] I never had any friends later on like the ones I had when I was 12. Jesus, does anyone?
-
Teddy : You lose Gordie!
[laughs]
Teddy : Gordie loses! Oh, Gordie just screwed the pooch!
Gordie : Does the word "retarded" mean anything to you?
Teddy : Gordie, go get the food, you morphodite.
Gordie : Don't call me any of your mother's pet names.
Teddy : What a wet end you are, Lachance!
Gordie : Shut up.
Teddy , Vern , Chris : [In unison] I don't shut up. I grow up. And when I look at you, I throw up.
[Pretends to gag]
Gordie : [to the others] And then, your mother goes around the corner and she licks it up!
The Writer : Finding new and preferably ways to degrade a friend's mother, was always held in high regard.
-
The Writer : The train had knocked Ray Brower out of his Keds the same way it had knocked the life out of his body.
-
The Writer : [after Gordie sees the deer, and the others wake up] The freight woke up the other guys and it was on the tip of my tongue to tell them about the deer. But I didn't. That was the one thing I kept to myself. I've never spoken or written about it until just now.
-
The Writer : [voiceover] Around this time, Charlie and Billy were playing "Mailbox Baseball" with Ace and Eyeball.
[cuts to Ace hitting mailboxes with a bat in a moving car]
Ace : [Ace hits a wooden mailbox] Ahh shit! I'm out! Goddammit!
Eyeball : You shouldn't have gone for a wooden one. Huh-huh!
Ace : [Stares at Eyeball intensely] Why don't you tell me something I don't know, asshole?
[Hands bat to Billy]
Ace : Billy, you're up.
Billy Tessio : Nah, you guys win. I don't wanna play no more.
Eyeball : Hey, you can't quit! We've only played three innings! That would be a non-official game!
Charlie Hogan : Hey, Ace. Uh, we...
[Billy nudges him in the arm]
Ace : What's with you homos? You guys've been acting psycho all day.
[Long pause]
Ace : What is it?
Billy Tessio : It's nothin'! It's nothin'! It's nothin', right?
[Looks over at Charlie who concurs]
Ace : Then, if you gentlemen don't mind, I'd like to finish this game before I start collecting my goddamn Social Security, okay? You're up Billy. Move it!
Billy Tessio : All right! Gimme this fuckin' thing.
[grabs bat and assumes batter's position]
Ace : Let's play ball!
Eyeball : Yeah!
